Sunday, March 7, 2010

Day number 10 with someone being sick in the house. Today Jessica had a fever and Nicholas vomited 5 times. It wore that poor baby out.

I had my day all ready-set this morning. I sent the boys to church with my mother and I stayed home with Jessica, Emily and Nicholas (Chris works on Sundays). Jessica laid on the loveseat sick, Emily sat on the couch watching Mickey Mouse and Nicholas sat in his highchair watching me clean the kitchen. I had taken the time to write a list of things I wanted to get done for the day. It was a long list but I thought a pretty doable one.

Nicholas has been sick all week. Tuesday through Friday Pedialyte was the only thing he could drink or eat. Saturday he was able to have formula and not bring it back up. He seemed to be back to his old (5 month) self. Today I figured I would try oatmeal cereal with some bananas mixed in. I figured it was the next progressive step. BIG MISTAKE!!! About an hour and half later----let's just say yuck x 4. My day went from a list to sitting on the couch holding a sick little boy.

I am embarrassed to say that I was a little upset that my plans got interrupted. Sitting on the couch was not anywhere on my list. Chris encourage me to go upstairs and rock Nicholas and just chill out for the day. I would love to say I did....but I didn't. I told him I would fall asleep if I rocked him. Chris reaction "And the problem is what?". He could see it was a losing battle so he went and laid down himself (he gets up every day at 3 am). Then Nicholas decided to be a water fountain all over while I was changing him. So even though bath time is at 7 every night, I was now giving him a bath at 4.

While giving Nicholas a bath it hit me.....It was like God {gently} gave me a slap upside the head "This is what you ARE suppose to be doing. Everything else is secondary to your children. You are the mommy...BE A MOMMY." I felt the correction God was bringing me, asked God for forgiveness and changed my whole attitude in a matter of a second.

Can you guess what I went and did? I went upstairs with Nicholas, feed him some Pedialyte and rocked him to sleep. Just me and him. I listened to K-Love, prayed, thought about what I was doing this time last year, and thought about the last 5 1/2 months. About 45 minutes later I did fall asleep----and the world kept spinning----imagine that!!

I was reminded today how much I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, how much I wanted to have a large family and how long I waited for Nicholas. This time is precious. I need to be reminded sometimes to step back and just be mom : )

Friday, March 5, 2010

We have known each other since we were 11 years old. We are talking 25 years here.

She is more like a sister than a friend.

She is the friend I can call up and just be myself---the good, the bad and the oh-so-very-ugly.

Take today for instance. She called me today to see if I wanted to come over with the kids. Both sets of kids definitely have cabin fever and are sick of being stuck in the house. I would have loved to jump at the opportunity to spend the afternoon chillin' at her house while all the kids played, BUT Nicholas vomited yet again today (everyone except my oldest has been sick). I wasn't bringing him out and the last thing she needs is for her family to get sick. So with a sad heart I had to say no. We were ALL disappointed (me and her as much as the kids).

As we talked on the phone you can sense the frustration we were both having with the kids (it happens sometimes). I have been dealing with someone being sick for a week now. Today I had baby still vomiting, 1 child who kept getting themselves in trouble with one bad decision after another, 2 that had ants-in-the-pants, and a toddler who kept grabbing a small electric keyboard and insisted on playing "beautiful music". Bedtime couldn't come fast enough---and it was only 11:30 in the morning!!!

After Chris came home another friend contacted me. We needed to meet up so I could give her products she order from a Wild Tree party I had 3 weeks ago. I couldn't get out the door fast enough when she suggested we met at Target since she doesn't know where I live and she needed to go there anyway. So with Chris' blessing, off to Target I went.

Oh, how I love Target. I call it my "Happy Place". I can just walk around there for hours looking at this and that. During the week the store is (usually) very quiet. On my way I called Wendy and told her I escaped and I was on my way to Target. She too calls it her "happy place".

I met my friend, had small talk for a few minutes and then went our separate ways. I hit Starbucks and began to decompress as I strolled the aisles of my favorite store. I was just about ready to leave when the phone rang....it was Wendy wondering if I was still at Target. She was on her way to escape.

I met her at the front entrance. She too made a B-line for Starbucks when she got there (sound familiar). We spent the next hour (or two) walking around Target talking "mommy".

We were able to share our frustrations with each other without having to worry about being judged.

We were able to give words of advice and encouragement to each other knowing we only want to see the best for the other and their family.

We laughed...boy did we laugh : )

And I would have to say, when I was ready to leave Target and return home to my family I was a better person, in a better place than when I left my door. I was able to come home fresh and enjoy the rest of the night with the kids. They even got to stay up later than their bedtimes to play WII. All the same "frustrations" were at my house after I went to Target as before, but because I took a little time to get away and enjoy another grown-ups company I was able to handle it all much better.

So Thanks Wendy! Thanks for being a great friend and someone I can just be myself with!!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

I am frustrated right now....with myself. I feel like the household (and life) spun a little too out of control for my liking. My personality is "I want it ALL fixed right now." but realistically I know that can't happen. One step and a time. I am going to pick one area this week to concentrate on. And the winner is: Menu Planning.

Have you ever heard the saying "if something isn't broken then don't fix it". Yeah, well during the summer I had a really good system in place. Then for some odd reason I tried changing things up.....always looking for bigger and better I guess. Instead of "Bigger and Better" meal time and grocery shopping has become "Expensive and Unorganized".

I honestly have no idea right now how much we are spending on food. Trips here, there and everywhere add up...and fast.

So I need some Goals:1. Inventory. I need to take an inventory of what I already have in the pantry, fridge and freezer. Certain foods I do like to have a stockpile of, but other things (like olives or green chili peppers) I only need a couple in the pantry at once. Buying duplicates of items I don't need is just wasting money that could be used towards other things I need or want.

2. Menu Plan. Once I have a list, I can start building meals and snack around what I have on hand. Have you ever had all the ingredients for a meal except one thing? I find with my staples I am able to make most meals minus one or two things. Also, if I am buying an ingredient that I know I am not going to use all of it for one recipe and it will go bad if not used within a certain amount of time, I will try to incorporate it into something else. A good example of this is sour cream. I have a coffee cake recipe that calls for it. It doesn't take the whole container though. Letting in go bad in the fridge is kissing money goodbye. So instead, I would plan on making fajitas within a few days of the coffee cake so I can use the leftover sour cream on the side as a dip.

3. Food/Drink Breakdown. I would like to break down how much we spend on Food/Drinks separate from hygiene, cleaning and baby products. It could be a little challenging since I do buy the majority of my food at Walmart and Target. But again, I guess the easy solution to that is to separate my order and check out twice.

4. White Board. During the fall I used a large white board to write down daily the menu plan for the day. It helped to let everyone know the plan for the day. I also included who the helper was and what--if any--meal they were to prepare.

5. Weight Watchers. I am doing Weight Watchers. I started back in January. I was doing great until Nicholas got sick. Once that happened counting and measuring was the least of my concerns. I NEED to start back tomorrow. I went to a meeting tonight so I feel all pumped up and ready to start. With this comes tracking and measuring what I am eating.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Talk about a big thrill for the boys today. My friend Wendy's son's birthday was Monday and to celebrate they went for a day of fun....they got to go to the Patriots Place which the home of the Patriots Hall of Fame. WOW!! They LOVED it! You have to understand, here in New England, we take sports seriously..... even as a child ; ) And here's another great reason to love homeschooling----they were able to go on a week day during school hours. Can you say field trip : ) They had the place to themselves until the end...and then there was only 2 other people there. Fun for them! Enjoy the pics.

Trophy Case

Replica of the locker room

Makes you feel like you are on the sideline.

From L to RJimmy (my friend Wendy's husband)CJ (my oldest)

Chris (the love of my life)

My boys with the THREE Super Bowl Trophies

How cool is that!!

CJ, Zachary and Alex

One of the actual Super Bowl Rings(sorry it is blurry)

Chris--The Enforcer

The kids (little and big) got to dress up as a Patriot.Here, they are in huddle. Those are not the men.It was actually interactive mannequins.Brady called a play and everything.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Right before Christmas my love bought me a treadmill. I had been wanting one for quite some time but had a hard time forking over the big bucks for a good one. To my surprise one day, Chris came home with one he bought off someone at work. I love getting a good deal and this was surely one. I looked up the treadmill online for a price comparison----this specific treadmill new is around $600......Chris got it for $150!!! YAHOOOOOO!!!! What a deal!!!

Have you ever heard that if you do something everyday for a month it becomes a habit? I was doing really great with getting my butt on the treadmill everyday. Then Nicholas got sick back in January and I haven't stepped foot on it since. Ugh! The habit works both ways you know! I have got in the habit of skipping it again. BAD HABIT! I was up to 50 minutes on the treadmill and the thought of getting on it for that long seems impossible.

It can be hard when you live a sedentary life and are over-weight to have the motivation to get up and go. So what is a girl to do? Here's an idea: get my sneakers on and GET ON THE TREADMILL!!!! It really is that simply. Hoping, wishing and talking about it isn't gonna make it happen. Getting on the treadmill and hitting the start button...that will.

You want to know one of my secrets for getting up to 50 minutes before? The first time I got on the treadmill I only did it for 10 minutes. Yup, that's it....10 minutes. It woke my body up to the idea of exercise. The next time I did it for 15 minutes. I actually did this for a few times. Believe it or not, when you haven't had exercise as a regular part of your life, 15 minutes wears you out (sorry, this isn't the Biggest Loser ranch where I am gonna kill myself exercising for 8 hours a day). From there I started challenging myself. I told myself---"If I can do 15 minutes, I wonder if I can do 25 minutes." Then it was "Wow, I can do 25 minutes, I bet I can do 30!" I kept challenging myself with a little more time. Next thing you know, I was doing a little more than 2 miles in 50 minutes : )

It looks like I am back at the beginning. But that's okay!!! The important thing is I am going to start. It is March after all : )

**Update---I did 30 minutes today!! I had only planned on doing 10-15 minutes but once I got on it and started moving it felt great!!!**

Monday, March 1, 2010

I LOVE March 1st! Why you may ask? Well I have SAD (seasonal depression). Winter can be real tough. December, January, and February equals cold weather, being cupped up in the house, less sunlight, and the grass being covered by that awful white stuff. March 1st means I made it through another winter. YEAH!!!

March is a new beginning. Spring is within reach. Now if it snows, I know it will be gone within a few weeks.The days are getting longer--- I love sunshine.Days are getting a (little) warmer. Here in New England, the kids are trying to ditch their winter jackets when it hits 40.....by 50, it is sweatshirt weather, and 60's you will see kids in shorts (I kid you not).

So with this new beginning comes a new beginning of sorts for my blog.If you notice, I haven't blogged much since Nicholas was born. It isn't that I haven't wanted to. It isn't even that I didn't have time. My biggest obstacle.......myself! I have lots of things I would like to blog about, but then I talk myself out of it, figuring people wouldn't be interested. Then it dawned on me, something is better than nothing! Some of my favorite blogs have small entries about this or that. I can do that.

My goal for March....every day to post this month. Can it be done? I guess we are about to see.See you tomorrow! : )Judy

About Me

Register Nurse by degree, Stay-At-Home Mom by choice! I have 7 children, 4 born from my womb and 3 born from my heart. I married my highschool sweetheart back in 1992 and we are still going strong!!! I am great at ordering out for dinner, but I am getting better at cooking. I am trying to broaden my horizons by learning how to sew, scrapbook, stamp, and cook.